Hardest Geezer reveals incredible story behind his nickname and what he could have been called instead

The man of the moment, 'Hardest Geezer', has explained how he got the nickname after running the length of Africa.

Russ Cook finally finished the gruelling challenge on Sunday, completing a nearly 10,000 mile journey through 16 different countries.

It took him 352 days to go from the most southerly point to the most northerly point and he finished in Ras Angela, Tunisia.

Cook raised over £600,000 for two charities and has been the talk of the town online after his incredible achievement.

The West Sussex ultramarathon runner has lived up to his moniker but in a recent TV interview, he revealed how it came to be bestowed upon him.

Asked where the name came from, he told Good Morning Britain: "'Hardest Geezer' was mostly jokes between pals. Me and one of my boys had a scrap for it, had a boxing match.

"I won and I decided I'm the 'Hardest Geezer' now and Rob, my pal, is now the 'Worthing Weasel'.

"It stuck. I kind of just rolled with it."

Image: Getty

The mammoth task was completed but not without any trials and tribulations. In Congo, he was kidnapped by a gang with machetes.

Eventually he was freed and persisted with the mission after the traumatic ordeal.

“The scariest moment was in the Congo, when I was on the back of a motorbike, thinking I was about to die, getting driven into the jungle," he told reporters.

"That was pretty nuts.

"Probably for about one minute I thought about quitting, and then I realised I couldn’t, so that was about as close as it got.”

Cook ran the equivalent of around 360 marathons and yet still everyone is wondering what his next will be.

"I will pick up the training again soon," he explained.

"My body is in a hell of a state. It needs fixing up first."